Neiman’s Charity Luncheon Honors Dallas’ Ten Best-Dressed
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DALLAS — Wes Gordon says it’s more exciting to see civilians than celebrities in his designs, so he was over the moon at the Crystal Charity Ball 10 Best Dressed luncheon on Friday at the Neiman Marcus flagship here.
Seated in the bridal salon, the creative director of Carolina Herrera hadn’t yet spied the 455 guests sipping chardonnay on the main floor, but he was pleased with the cocktail party hosted by Lana and Barry Andrews the prior evening.
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“To walk into the home full of beautiful women having a great time — so many of whom were wearing pieces from recent Herrera collections — was amazing,” Gordon said. “It’s been a crazy week because our [New York Fashion Week] show was Monday and it feels already like it was months ago.”
Gordon showed 50 pieces from his resort and bridal collections at the luncheon, which Neiman’s has completely underwritten for 44 years.
The event was expected to raise more than $900,000 for Crystal Charity Ball, which aims to distribute more than $6 million to children’s charities this year. Once again, Laura Bush was among the front-row guests.
Longtime Crystal Charity Ball supporter Charlotte Jones Anderson wore a flame-orange Herrera and sparkling blue Louis Vuitton heels to introduce the best dressed, who each took a runway spin in Herrera before the fashion show. They were Delilah Boyd, Lisa Cooley, Tiffany Davis, Jennifer Dix, Cate Ford, Cara French, Amy Hegi, Karla McKinley, Amy Prestidge, Kimberly Whitman and “hall of fame” honoree Francie Moody-Dahlberg.
All of the ladies named best dressed by the charity wore styles from his fall collection, as did a number of guests.
“I’ve worked really hard to make color one of our principal brand codes,” Gordon explained. “The first thing I do in my design process is create the color card, and I really look at those colors as our primary ingredients and building blocks. I agonize over them and I stress over them, but once you have what I call happy, beautiful color, you’re always on your way to what I call a very optimistic, joyful collection.”
Anderson, who is executive vice president of the family business the Dallas Cowboys, and her mother, Gene Jones, are both in the charity’s best-dressed hall of fame.
“My father [Jerry Jones], who is no stranger to hall of fames himself, was a little jealous of the fact that he has not been asked to be in the hall of fame of Crystal Charity,” Anderson said.
“He said, ‘What exactly do I have to do to be part of that hall of fame?’ And I said, ‘well, it’s kind of easy. You gotta paint your nails, you gotta do your hair, you gotta shave your legs and you gotta get yourself all looking pretty, and then you gotta go ask people for millions of dollars…with a smile and grace and a kind word at the end of your sentence — and in four-inch tall stilettos.’
“He pondered and said, ‘You know what? I think it’d be much easier to run the Dallas Cowboys.’”
Neiman’s chief executive officer Geoffroy van Raemdonck credited Gordon with creating “this incredible couture with a fresh modern sense.”
He also seized took the opportunity to promote the 112-year-old retailer.
“We were born out of love, and we are on a journey to bring that love for our customers forward,” Van Raemdonck said. “I hope that every time you come to Neiman Marcus you feel the personal touch of our sales associates and everyone who works here.…We want to be available in stores, online, via text, on Instagram in the modern day living.”
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